Hana Financial Group set a new record for all-time best results, posting 343 billion won in net profit through the third quarter this year. Major subsidiaries such as securities, capital, and card each grew steadily, but Finda, the Fintech (a portmanteau of finance and technology) company within the financial holding group, remains the sore thumb.
Finda was jointly funded and launched by Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom in Aug. 2016. SK Telecom sold its equity in 2022, and Hana Financial Group now owns 100% of the equity. Finda compares and introduces various loan, insurance, and online investment financial products, but it has never turned a profit since its founding. Monthly active users (MAU) are stuck at about 280,000.
Chief Executive Jang Il-ho, who took office in January, is focusing on internalizing and advancing technology to move beyond supplying B2B (business-to-business) to Hana Financial Group and to draw customers from outside Hana Financial. Finda's comparison and recommendation service for investment products linked to online investment-linked finance (on-to-up) was designated an innovative financial service by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in July. It is a service that lets users check a range of investment product information in the Finda application (app) at once—products that invest in real estate and card merchant settlements and seek around 10% annual returns—and easily find products that match their investment profile.
Jang, who has served as head of AI Data and head of Customer Data at Hana Financial Group, said, "We will combine new services that traditional finance has not contained with Hana Financial Group's stability to build a platform with a reason to exist." The following is a Q&A with Jang on the 7th at Finda's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
—What goals do you want to achieve while serving as CEO?
"The medium- to short-term goal is to establish a foundation for sustainable growth through streamlining the business structure and a stable revenue model. Based on Finda's strengths in data capabilities and technology-driven experimentation, we will validate innovative service models that can solve real problems for society and customers. Achieving a monthly break-even point (BEP) is also a goal."
—What was the biggest problem you had to solve when you took office?
"It was to convert technology assets into business assets with marketability and profitability. Finda has secured various technologies and services, including MyData, prepaid points, financial product comparison and recommendation, and security authentication. The problem was that the secured technologies and services did not create real value. We have focused on transforming Finda from technology-centered to business-centered."
—What is Finda's role within the group?
"It is a digital innovation lab and an execution platform. Finda is focusing on advancing its MyData service and, based on that, connecting the entirety of customers' financial activities with data. I think the group judged that Finda has value, which is why it kept the company despite losses."
—What are your collaboration plans with group companies?
"Group synergy is Finda's most powerful competitive edge. When Finda surveyed group employees, about 90% were unfamiliar with the concept of on-to-up. But when we explained it with a simple example, more than 50% showed positive interest. Finda is pursuing a strategy to naturally connect highly reliable investment information to customers of Hana Bank, Hana Card, and Hana Securities, among other group companies. On-to-up is only the beginning."
—What value can the "on-to-up comparison service," designated as an innovative financial service, create?
"The on-to-up market has high growth potential but remains difficult for retail investors. There have been some limitations in terms of information disclosure, investor protection systems, and reliability, so market expansion has proceeded more slowly than expected.
To address this, Finda structured transparency of information from the investor's point of view. Among on-to-up products, we expose only safe products, and if something is classified as truly safe, we apply a "Finda Pick" label. The key is not simple product comparison but building a trust structure that makes investors' decision-making transparent through data verification."
—How does the revenue structure work, such as platform fees or revenue sharing with partners?
"Finda's goal is not short-term fee revenue but building a sustainable investment platform. The current revenue model consists of partner on-to-up operator fees and Finda's direct investment revenue. We plan to expand into personalized financial product recommendation services based on MyData."
—What changes for consumers?
"Safety. To protect investors, we established a comparison and verification system based on source data. Rather than relying on information provided by existing on-to-up operators, we view and cross-check official source data, such as certified copies of real estate registers, to verify actual ownership relationships of collateral, priority of rights, and whether collateral values match.
Even so, to prepare for contingencies that could occur, we select products that include purchase commitments and title insurance, and when we opened the innovative financial service, we purchased personal information protection liability and electronic transaction financial liability insurance, each at a scale of 1 billion won. Liability insurance of this scale is not easy for Fintech."